A lightly regarded pitcher when signed as an amateur free agent with the New York Yankees in 1990, Rivera struggled as a starter but found his niche as a reliever with a devastating
cut fastball.
I still believe that." He tried to get a
cut fastball in on Ortiz, and Ortiz went and got it, driving it down the first base line.
When Blackstone Valley Tech coach Anthony Leonelli first discussed pitching with Dan Avery three years ago, Leonelli didn't believe the then-sophomore could throw a
cut fastball.
He is regarded as the greatest closer of all time, whether he's throwing his
cut fastball in the regular season or postseason.
Here's a warning to future hitters: Bryant is working on a curve and
cut fastball to add some diversity to his repertoire.
"I throw a two-seamer, a four-seam fastball, a
cut fastball, slider, curveball and changeup."
Some of these pitchers are able to throw a
cut fastball, which can be effective but probably not as much as a slider.
Mixing a
cut fastball with a sinker and a deceptive changeup, Yarbrough was literally unhittable until the ninth.
In came Jansen, who struck out pinch-hitter David Peralta swinging through a 93-mph
cut fastball and got the dangerous Paul Goldschmidt to fly to deep left to end the inning.
Hechavarria hammered Lester's very next pitch, a
cut fastball, hooking it around the foul screen into the second deck in left for his second career home run.